My Refurbished MacBook stops and needs to be shutdown frequently

My Refurbished MacBook stops and needs to be shutdown frequently and I have no idea what to do about it. I will be in the middle of editing an unsaved document in word when the screen freezes and then announces that it needs to shutdown. Thank you, preemptively.
Matt B.

You are describing a kernel panic and you should not be seeing them frequently. Just as an example of typical usage: I use my MacBook about 6 hours a day every day and in the 9 weeks that I've owned this one I have seen no kernel panics at all. Kernel panics can be hardware related but can also be caused by operating system problems.
Before you progress any further, the first thing you'll want to do is back up your data. Whether you attempt to fix the problem yourself, or let Apple handle it, your drive is going to be wiped. (And if you've installed a RAM upgrade it would be a good idea to remove it because that could be the cause of the panics.)
If you call AppleCare you're likely to be told to wipe the drive and use the install DVD to return the computer to factory specs. If you have a local AppleStore your genius will (probably) do that for you. If removing the RAM, unplugging all your peripherals, and reinstalling the OS doesn't solve the problem then you'll know your problem is with the computer itself.

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